France's Astor Scandal

Remember when Brooke Astor’s son and lawyers were accused of persuading her to sign over huge sums and art when she was perhaps not all there? France now has a society case to rival New York’s: The smooth-talking photographer and writer François-Marie Banier, 61, is facing court proceedings over “abusing the frailty” of L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, 86, to get more than $1 billion from her in gifts, property, and life insurance. Bettencourt’s daughter is accusing Banier—friend of Johnny Depp, Mick Jagger, and Kate Moss—of scheming to get himself adopted by the frequently ill Bettencourt, the world’s richest woman, according to Forbes. Bettencourt has fired back: “Everything I gave to François-Marie Banier was out of friendship...and in front of a lawyer who was assured that I was fully competent.”